Boilermaker86

At first I didn’t know if I was remembering thing wrong, or something is missing from my system. When I was first starting out, I was reading avs forum a lot and there was a lot of talk on how Harman Kardon was a great, powerful receiver. I bought one and paired them up with my speakers. They sounded phenomenal. Long story short I had so many quality issues I had to finally switch to a different brand. I replaced it with the receiver I have now an Onkyo 805. I love that it is powerful and has great bass. The one thing I feel I am missing is the way the HK sounded. I watched Star Wads episode 3 on both and I felt like something was missing. I feel like with the HK the trumpets were so clear and it just felt like there was more of a separation of sound. Now this is what is in my memory from 10 years ago, but no matter how long I have my Onkyo 805, I never felt the same way about it. I almost feel the Onkyo is lifeless and lacks dynamics. What’s interesting is my Onkyo has Audyssey and HK has their ez set. Could it be a difference in the set up software. Audyssey sets all speakers at around -10 all around. I played around and set it back to 0 for all channels and it seemed to have more character to the sound. The last think I have to up grade is my receiver. How can I get great dynamics from the sound and feel the same way I once did. I was considering getting a Marantz 8012 because it is described as a warm sound. Would that make a difference? When I sold my speakers the guy that came over said he used to have an Onkyo and now has s Marantz and likes the sound a lot better. I heard that same comment from a few people.

I was surprised that my Despecible me 3 I just got has dts X and it is s regular blu ray. I’m assuming dts x is dts’ version of atmos.

I didn’t think much about atmos until you mentioned the value of hearing sound from above, like rain scenes. I guess I was thinking when they were first adding speakers like the additional speakers for wides or height channels it didn’t interest me. My room was not wide and heights I was like if I look at my blu rays I own now, most are only 5.1 and I have to expand them to 7.1....how many times would I actually use it. After seeing your video I would consider it down the road, but I believe would really need a dedicated space with flat ceilings.

No minimum lol

I did a lot of reading on the Marantz 8003 pre amp. Unfortunately even though it is a year newer than my Onkyo 805, it won’t allow adding post processing to the HD formats when the receiver is decoding it and disables Audyssey. It was a limitation that Onkyo does not have. So I’m not going to pull the trigger on that one. If I ever upgrade from the Onkyo, maybe it will be the new Marantz 8012. Save up and wait until it drops in price or goes on assessories4less. I like the idea of getting audyssey xt32, dynamic eq, and dual sub outputs. Having 140 wats per channel gives me confidence it will be powerful like the Onkyo. Plus everyone seems to describe Marantz as warm and a good match to Klipsch.

I Wonder if that is new. I was looking at the Marantz 8012 and they quote it now one channel too. I did a double take when I saw 205 per channel

What do you have for front left and right speakers? Could it be the imaging of the fronts projecting on the center? I had that issue when I didn’t have the front left and right speakes the right angle.

Since I spent a lot on the speakes, what I may do is use the Onkyo as a power source and wait until funds become available to get a dedicated amp. I talked to the guy, real nice. Said we could demo it in my house with my speakers and if I like it with my system I can buy it.

Yes you know me very well. That gives me an idea what the price of a 7 channel Marantz amp is. Also, that anthem looks very nice. I saw an anthem 710 on eBay around 850. I keep bouncing between the Marantz and Anthem. For the THX, I like the different listening modes you can apply line neural and ultra 2 on top of Dolby and the Hd formats. I’ll def try @MetropolisLakeOutfitters For a price on a new amp. Thanks

I was searching OfferUp and came across a Marantz 8003. I’ve never had separates before. Currently I have an Onkyo 805. I like that the Marantz is supposed to have a warmer sound and this one is ultra2 certified so it should have the thx listening modes in used to. I figure for 4k I can just pass a separate hdmi to the TV if I ever upgrade my tv to 4k later. The price doesn’t seem bad, but I have no idea how much a matching Marantz amplifier costs. I currently run 7.1 and no plans for any additional speakes for atmos or anything. Do you have any recommendations on an amplifier and about how much it will cost for a 7.1 system?

Yes he looks just like that tiger in the background

Nice set up. Got mine from Acoustic Sound Design as well and he said they were A stock. Looks similar to mine! They even have that same dark color.

I must say I’m so far impressed with these beasts. I re-ran audyssey and it is amazing. The sound field is incredible. Bass is plentiful and tight. Sound seems like it is coming from the walls with the 4 RF-52 IIs. I can’t believe how good audyssey matched the front to the surrounds. I can turn these at higher volumes and it is still pleasant to listen to. Plus, they look great with the Christmas tree.

Small price to pay for perfect speakers in the box that match the 7 IIs!

Earlier this year I bought 2 pairs of RS-52 2 IIs for 450 each plus shipping so I think it is fair. Shipping was an arm and a leg on them too. Just hold tight, someone will snag them up eventually.

I just got them from acoustic sound design for that price in cherry. He said he could do A grade for that price with 5 year warranty if that helps.

Thank you. It’s taking me a bit of time to get used to the color. I thought they would have more of a red tint to it. I was able to get A grade speakers and didn’t see a flaw with them. Depending how I take the pictures I can get the red to show.

Ceptorman is right that is exactly what I did. If you want some suggestions, here are some things I did to make the highs better: I noticed that when the left speaker was close to the wall, the problem was worse. So I played with the distance from the left wall and the angle to I got something I liked. I played around with the distance from the back wall. Since it is rear ported, it really makes a difference. Too close and it sounds boomy, too far it seems like not enough base. I had to play around until I got it just right. Last, I ran all 8 poisons on audyssee. This made a big difference and seemed to set everything perfectly. I noticed if I used stereo to listen to music which had the front two speakers, subwoofer, and audysee turned on, it sounded a bit boomy like watching a movie. I switched to using pure audio for music and the helped with the brightness. I feel some of the brightness on music was with the audysee. Ultamtely, I just liked the look of the RF-7 IIs and was hearing great things about the quality of the components. It really does seem to fill the space much better, I’m listening at lower volumes and it sounds fantastic. Even at low volumes, the two 10” woofers with the Onkyo have a great kick to it. It seems like the horn in the 7IIs is much more smooth and a lot more pleasant to listen to.

After I sell my old speakers, I was thinking about getting a new subwoofer. I was thinking of the R-115sw. Would that be a nice upgrade? My current sub 12 is downward firing and I like that. The bass almost sounds great as it is after getting the 7IIs.

My wife does say the dog is more handsome than me hahaha.... Your RS-52 IIs are doing just fine in the back keeping up with the 7s! Thanks again for some great back speakers.

I should have added this picture be more clear lol

Hahaha yes he is my guard dog. I had the Rc-62 before which I loved, but I wanted something bigger than the RF-82s. The ceiling is vaulted and the RF-7 IIs full up the space much better.

The Onkyo 805 seems to push them just as easy as the RF-82 IIs. The FR-7 IIs have nice bass and fill the room. Even with the Christmas tree I can still hear the left one. Of course once Christmas is over I can re-run audysee and I expect it to be even better. The RF-82s and RC-62 is going up for sale soon.

Problem Solved. I got a new set of speakers. Less bright and a lot of Bass! Love them so far.

I just got a pair of RF-7 IIs and the RC-64 IIs ( a post on that later) and just want to point out something different. The article was an interesting read. But you are right, I was looking around and the Anthem is hard to find and the newer model is very expensive. Of the mainline receivers, I’ve heard good things about Marantz.